Ceremony Rededicates Renovated Illinois Supreme Court Building
From the Springfield State Journal-Register
Illinois Supreme Court justices and guests officially rededicated the newly renovated headquarters of the state’s judicial branch during a Tuesday evening ceremony.
The main chamber of the building was packed with Supreme Court justices, local, state and federal judges, state lawmakers and attorneys for the event honoring the renovation of the 106-year-old building at Second Street and Capitol Avenue across from the Capitol.
“For a year, the justices of the Illinois Supreme Court held their terms in Chicago. Last month, however, we returned to this building to hold our September term of court,” Chief Justice Rita Garman said. “I have to tell you, it was like coming home after a long trip to find our home even better than when we left.”
“All of us, the justices and the staff, are glad to be back home in Springfield where we belong,” she said.
Former Gov. James Thompson, who now serves as chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court Preservation Commission, said he was proud to see how great the building where he started his career more than a half-century ago looks following the $16 million renovation.
“This is an extraordinary occasion for me,” Thompson said. “This is where my legal career began 55 years ago.”
Thompson remembered when, as a young attorney, he would sneak away from arguing cases to eat cookies with a housekeeper in the justice’s chambers on the third floor, keeping an eye on the time so he wouldn’t get caught.
“There are other stories, but I don’t think I’ll tell them. I just mention it to show my reverence for this court which has stretched from that first case in the September term when I was 23 years old to this day, where we celebrate the restoration of the courthouse,” Thompson said. “It stands now as a refreshed symbol of all that is good about the justice system in Illinois.”
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Springfield State Journal-Register
Illinois Supreme Court justices and guests officially rededicated the newly renovated headquarters of the state’s judicial branch during a Tuesday evening ceremony.
The main chamber of the building was packed with Supreme Court justices, local, state and federal judges, state lawmakers and attorneys for the event honoring the renovation of the 106-year-old building at Second Street and Capitol Avenue across from the Capitol.
“For a year, the justices of the Illinois Supreme Court held their terms in Chicago. Last month, however, we returned to this building to hold our September term of court,” Chief Justice Rita Garman said. “I have to tell you, it was like coming home after a long trip to find our home even better than when we left.”
“All of us, the justices and the staff, are glad to be back home in Springfield where we belong,” she said.
Former Gov. James Thompson, who now serves as chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court Preservation Commission, said he was proud to see how great the building where he started his career more than a half-century ago looks following the $16 million renovation.
“This is an extraordinary occasion for me,” Thompson said. “This is where my legal career began 55 years ago.”
Thompson remembered when, as a young attorney, he would sneak away from arguing cases to eat cookies with a housekeeper in the justice’s chambers on the third floor, keeping an eye on the time so he wouldn’t get caught.
“There are other stories, but I don’t think I’ll tell them. I just mention it to show my reverence for this court which has stretched from that first case in the September term when I was 23 years old to this day, where we celebrate the restoration of the courthouse,” Thompson said. “It stands now as a refreshed symbol of all that is good about the justice system in Illinois.”
Read more in our daily News Update...